Independence Day
by Shini-neko-chan
Summary: Whatever happened to make Seto and Mokuba orphans in the first place? Here's a theory


Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh isn't mine, and neither are the characters of this fic. I claim mama and papa, loathly.

A/N: This is a fic based on Martina McBride's Independence Day. Now, I'm not a country fan by nature, but this one and one of her other ones got me right in the heart. And after many times of listening to it, I decided YGO would be good for this one. So, with that out of the way, here you go.

Independence Day

By Shini Neko

In the yard, a small boy swung around with his mother, singing a quiet hymn while his baby brother looked on from his littler player pen.

"Through many dangers, toils, and snares, we have already come, t'was grace that brought me safe this far, and grace will lead me home..."

--

As usual, the bright, blue-eyed boy was seen being followed by his little brother as he went to see his mother, his eyes automatically falling on a dark bruise that spanned from her eyebrow to her cheekbone. Lifting his head as his little brother bumped into him, he looked down the small hall that led toward the kitchen, seeing his father walking by.

Without a word, he went to hug his mother, feeling helpless. He knew he should get help for her, but he didn't know where to go, and his mother was proud enough as it was. She wouldn't accept the help if he did go and get some.

He glanced back at her for a long moment before reaching down and taking Mokuba's hand in his own, walking out of the house with him to go to the fair.

When they arrived, Seto picked up his little brother to push through the crowd to the front so they could see, and he could hear Mokuba squeal as the clowns came closer. He gave a little smile himself, giving him some of the cotton candy he'd managed to scrape together for.

A clown in white face pain with a tear drop on one cheek danced up, ruffles flying in a haze of colors with another soon following. He watched in silence as they mock fighted, slapping their hands at each other and punching each other in the faces. How could they..? And the people around them were laughing! LAUGHING! A tremble ran through him and he knew he had to leave, before he did something stupid. Ignoring Mokuba's protest as he pulled them out of the crowd, dropping the cone of fluffy sugar, he started toward home again.

---

A punch, an outcry, shattered glass. She couldn't take it anymore. Even as she tried to defend herself against his blows. But she couldn't as he slammed her against the floor, sneering before leaving her there to go and get some beer. She lay there for a long moment before unsteadily getting up and purposefully knocking over a kerosene lamp that had escaped his rage.

She found a small box of matches on one of the shelves and walked over to where the kerosene was, pulling one out solemnly. " ...Forgive me Seto." She lit it and let it burn a second before slowly letting it fall between her fingertips to the ground, the hot tip striking the kerosene and setting it ablaze. She didn't cry out or scream, just staggered back as the flames licked at her clothing.

His beer only acted as an accelerant, spreading it far enough that it soon engulfed the room, and quickly spread to the others, catching on the fine draperies and the carpeting as if eating it alive. Her husband never knew what hit him when the fire reached the room he was in, with nothing more than a 1-foot window that was too high to crawl to.

His scream echoed, and ultimately got the firemen called when the smoke was seen.

---

Seto saw the smoke long before he knew what was going on, and with a growing sense of dread, hitched Mokuba up a little and started to run toward home, his unbrushed hair stinging at his eyes as he raced to where the smoke was coming from.

Mokuba slipped from his grip as he stared for a moment then started forward. "Mother!!"

About ten feet from the fire, he was grabbed by an officer on duty and carted away, all the while reaching back toward the now smoldering timber of their house. He was able to see through the front of the house through the wall. All that was left was the corner pieces, and he couldn't see anything besides smoke from the inside.

Barely registering it as he was placed in the back of a squad car, he felt more than acknowledged Mokuba crawling over and into his lap, clinging to him and whimpering. As the car was pulled away, he looked back to where the cops were talking to people, silently begging his mother to come back, though he knew she was gone.

When their home was out of sight, he pulled Mokuba tight against him, trembling as he made a silent vow. He had left his mother alone, and now she was gone. But he wouldn't leave Mokuba alone. Never. Then Mokuba wouldn't leave him either. He'd still have his family, and no one would take that away from him.

OWARI

Yes...it says owari. A one shot! And ... o.o ygo. wow. Thank you for reading it, and reviews will be personally commented on!


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